Obama to sign debt ceiling bill

Feb. 13, 2014
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President Obama / Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

President Obama will soon sign a bill extending the debt ceiling by 13 months, wrapping up a victory over some congressional Republicans and taking the issue off the table past the November congressional elections.

"I'm pleased that Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to pay for what they've already spent, and remove the threat of default from our economy once and for all," Obama said in a statement.

Republicans in recent years have used the debt ceiling to extract spending cuts and other concessions from the Obama administration; this time around, Obama said he would not negotiate on the legislation that enables the government to pay its bills.

Many congressional Republicans did not want another confrontation over the debt ceiling, fearing that the specter of a government default would hurt them politically.

Even some Republicans who wanted to attach conditions to this debt ceiling deal could not agree on what those conditions should be.

This week, the Republican-run House and the Democratic-run Senate passed a "clean" debt ceiling bill to extend the government's borrowing authority for 13 months.

"The full faith and credit of the United States is too important to use as leverage or a tool for extortion," Obama said in his statement. "Hopefully, this puts an end to politics by brinksmanship and allows us to move forward to do more to create good jobs and strengthen the economy."

He added: "Instead of wasting time creating new crises, Congress should be focused on creating new jobs and opportunities. That's what the American people deserve from their representatives in Washington, and that's what they should get."